“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.”

—Pablo Picasso

For many, abstract art can be difficult. Difficult to create and difficult to understand. It’s inherently different than most other types of art, almost by definition. Thus, many people look at it with reserve and misunderstanding.

It’s been argued that no one can truly tell you how to look at a piece of abstract art, not even the artist behind the creation. Whether that is true or not is up for debate. At the end of the day, abstract art, like almost all art, is deeply personal and it’s up to the beholder to abstract from it what they will.

All that being said, here’s just a handful of our favorite pieces of abstract art from some incredibly talented Directory of Illustration artists.